The urgency of electoral reforms
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
For one, Botswana is under a ‘minority’ rule, as the ruling party has for the first time in 48 years, failed to achieve more than 50% of the popular vote.
With 46.7% of the popular vote the ruling party is still firmly in government thanks to the First-Past-The-Post electoral system. Furthermore the ruling party’s representation in Parliament stands at around 67% while the combined opposition representation is around 33%. How did that happen? The answer is simple; First-Past-The-Post.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...